Local historian: The Exmouth woman who fought Napoleon

Exmouth was home to several famous ladies - and one infamous one.

For the next few instalments your historian will bring you their stories, starting with Ann 'Nancy' Perriam.

Your historian is indebted to Geoff Perriam for all his help with the preparation of this article. Mr Perriam still lives in Exmouth, and Nancy was his 4x great-grandfather’s second wife, making her his 4x step-grandmother.

Early life and first marriage

Ann was born at Littleham on 12 April 1769 to William Letton and his wife Ann (née Waldron). She was one of four children.

At the age of 19, in 1788, she married Edward Hopping at Littleham.

Edward was a seaman with the Royal Navy and served on ships as a second gunner, firing the cannons from the gun decks.

As was often permitted in those times, the wives of seamen went with their husbands on board ship and Ann too did this.

By this time, she seems to have been known as Nancy, so we will continue with calling her this.

'Powder monkey' and fighting Napoleon

French ship L'Orient explodes at the Battle of the Nile (George Arnald/ National Maritime Museum)

She was a 'powder monkey', which meant she filled flannel bags with gunpowder for the guns, and when not doing this assisted the surgeon in tending the wounded.

It was dangerous work working with gunpowder, and particularly when the ship was engaged in battle with the noise on the gundecks and the splintering of wood flying everywhere when the ship was under attack.

It must have been terrifying. Injuries were common, and the ship’s surgeon much in demand. Nancy would have been kept busy.

In 1793, she and Edward were serving on HMS Crescent where she also was the personal seamstress to the captain, Sir James Saumarez. Also on board were her brothers and twelve others from Exmouth.

When the captain transferred to HMS Orion, she and Edward went with him and they were present at the battles of L’Orient in 1795, Cape St Vincent in 1797 and The Nile in 1798 under the command of Nelson.

Twice widowed

In 1799, they returned to England and Edward worked on boats in and out of Exmouth.

But tragedy struck on the night of 19 July 1802, when a terrible storm blew up and the boat capsized and poor Edward drowned.

Nancy subsequently married John Perriam, a widower and Trinity House pilot in 1805.

He died in 1812 and she was once again widowed at the age of 43.

To earn a living, she started selling fish around the streets of the town.

In 1813, the navy granted her a pension of £10 per annum in recognition of her service to the nation. Some of the gentry of Exmouth also gave her a weekly allowance “so she would not go without”.

In 1841, she was living in Tower Street where she stayed for the rest of her life.

Death

On 24 January 1865, Nancy died at the age of 96 (although her death certificate states 97), and was buried at Littleham on 29 January.

The location of her grave is unknown, but believed to be near that of Lady Nelson. No headstone exists.

Her funeral was reported by The Exmouth Mercury on 4 February and Freeman's Exmouth Journal gave an account of her life on Saturday 18 March 1902.

So ended the life of one of Exmouth’s most famous and brave women - and obviously a great character.

The museum has a display featuring Nancy Perriam, so why not come along and find out more about her for yourself and discover other fascinating aspects of Exmouth’s history – a warm welcome awaits!

If you would like to know more please visit the museum's website or you can email Mike at [email protected].

—————

Ed: This article is from Mike Menhenitt's Walking Through Exmouth History series. Use the links below to read previous articles:

Part One: The beginnings of Exmouth, from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age

Part Two: Exmouth in the Iron Age - and the arrival of the Celts

Part Three: Roman coins and Viking raids

Part Four: The impact of the Norman conquest, and how places in Exmouth got their names

Part Five: How Exmouth became a fashionable seaside resort in the 18th century

Part Six: How the docks brought prosperity to Exmouth - and then became the marina

Part Seven: The coming of the railway

Part Eight: Turnpikes, toll houses and inns in Exmouth

Part Nine: Jobs your ancestors had in the town through the ages